Flowers Are Bait Novel - Chapter 7

“……An unknown wife suddenly appeared, didn’t she? I was worried about how flustered and uncomfortable this must be for Mr. Kwon Chaewoo……”

“You did that for me?”

He asked back indifferently.

It was when Yiyeon, quite pleased with her quick wit, nodded her head wildly. Kwon Chaewoo suddenly bent down to meet her eye level.

“Go to hell.”

“……!”

“You call that consideration? I don’t like it, Ms. Yiyeon.”

Since waking up, he had consistently used a submissive tone, yet, ironically, it was far from polite.

“They said it’s legally mandated. Are you planning to abandon a relative?”

In the darkness, only his pupils gleamed like an oil slick.

“Someone scraped everything out of my head with a rake, but only Ms. So Yiyeon’s face flickers before my eyes.”

“…….”

“I guess I really am your husband. My head starts to burn when you try to abandon me.”

That’s just…… because Mr. Kwon Chaewoo’s nature is terrible…….

Yiyeon, unable to retort, awkwardly parted her lips.

I’m doomed, utterly doomed.

Yiyeon had to struggle desperately to keep her crumbling expression from showing.

Nevertheless, the probing was not over. Kwon Chaewoo had a natural talent for instinctively gaining the upper hand, but at the same time, he had the weakness of knowing nothing.

On the other hand, Yiyeon could manipulate his blank slate freely, using it as a steering wheel. Knowing the truth alone was an excellent hand.

But the problem was—

“I must have loved you very much, Ms. Yiyeon.”

No, you didn’t! You tried to kill me!

This time, he had preempted her again.

She couldn’t help but admit that her cleverness had become another trap.

At this very moment, when murderous intent transformed into love.

Yiyeon was pulling an empty cart with the staggering man in it.

She felt a gaze pulling at the back of her head, but Yiyeon never looked back. Only the sound of insects filled the silence between them.

“How old am I?”

Kwon Chaewoo suddenly asked, resting his arm on the cart.

“Uh……”

Now, even a trivial question makes her think deeply. This was a minefield. A gamble where one wrong step could easily lead to an explosion.

“I’m thirty-two……”

Yiyeon turned her head to steal a glance at the man’s face.

His unblemished, handsome face made it difficult to pinpoint his age. If he wore a school uniform, he would look like an innocent student; if he wore a suit, he would look like a seasoned businessman.

“You, you’re the same age as me.”

He nodded slowly, as if inputting the information.

“But did we use polite language with each other?”

“……Mr. Kwon Chaewoo was always so dignified and polite.”

Yiyeon felt thorns on her tongue, trying to invent words.

Trees have the ability to create new branches. Now it seems lies do too. Once a lie sprouted, it spread uncontrollably.

“Then what kind of person was I?”

“…….”

Yiyeon was speechless again this time.

Mr. Kwon Chaewoo was very good at burying people…….

“Uh……, well……”

As Yiyeon hesitated, the man poked her elbow. Startled by the brief contact, Yiyeon unconsciously blurted out.

“He was good at planting things in the ground!”

“Planting? What?”

“……That, that.”

Human bodies…….

“……Flowers.”

“Excuse me?”

“Mr. Kwon Chaewoo planted flowers at my, my hospital.”

She wanted to sew her mouth shut.

The man was dirty with soil, and had many abrasions from being dragged on the ground. Yiyeon simply applied medicine to him after he finished showering.

The red scratches made her frown, stinging just by looking at them. But Kwon Chaewoo didn’t even let out a groan. Only his calm breathing disturbed Yiyeon’s stray thoughts. Each time, Yiyeon’s fingertips trembled slightly, wishing for the night to end quickly.

“Let’s sleep together.”

“……What?”

Yiyeon looked up, dumbfounded.

“We’re married, so why would we sleep separately?”

Her face immediately flushed crimson at his innocent question.

“Well, well, Mr. Kwon Chaewoo is still a patient and……”

“I’m a patient, but I’m no longer a vegetable.”

His eyes were straight as he said that, looking at Yiyeon. She unconsciously scooted back to the very edge of the mattress.

The duties of a married couple were something Yiyeon hadn’t calculated. The ripple effect of one lie now hit her physically. Her heart pounded rapidly, unable to turn back.

“Is it because I’m a stranger to you?”

“…….”

“Because I’m different from the husband you remember?”

“That’s……”

“Then I’ll just breathe like a plant.”

He gazed at her with transparent eyes.

“I’ll act like the old husband you knew, who didn’t treat you roughly, didn’t force you, and didn’t threaten you.”

His eyes, visible through his wet hair, seemed inexplicably pathetic, as if all the violent moments were merely a mirage.

“So, sleep with me.”

Even if he didn’t try, it would be over once he fell asleep anyway. The doctor said that once Kwon Chaewoo fell asleep, no one knew when he would wake up again. So, getting him to sleep was the top priority.

Yiyeon, hiding her intentions, silently took her place beside him. It wasn’t a spacious bed, but it was just enough for two people to lie side by side. A faint smell of hospital disinfectant wafted from the blanket.

“There’s a lot I want to ask.”

He only turned his head to look at Yiyeon. Despite his gaze piercing her like an arrow, she stared rigidly at the ceiling.

“……What are you most curious about?”

“How did I become a vegetable?”

It was a tough start. Yiyeon’s Adam’s apple bobbed significantly.

“……We went to the mountains together and fell in an accident.”

“You too, Ms. Yiyeon?”

He carefully furrowed his brows.

“I, I wasn’t hurt much.”

It was a subtle statement, depending on how you heard it. It could mean she was hurt, or not hurt. A sentence with a loophole for future excuses. Yiyeon’s heart skipped like a stone skimming water.

“So you’ve been nursing me ever since?”

“……The medical staff suffered more than I did.”

This flimsy lie would be mercilessly torn to shreds by ruthless claws the moment it was discovered. Beasts are inherently keen-scented and quick-witted. Yiyeon felt like she was walking on thin ice.

“Just think about your body for now. You’ll be able to meet your family soon. Mr. Kwon Chaewoo has an older brother.”

“I don’t know who that is.”

He replied indifferently and took her hand. When Yiyeon flinched, he tightened his grip. Though only her hand was held, it strangely felt as if her entire body was bound.

“The person I need right now is you, Ms. Yiyeon.”

“…….”

“My wife’s face being the only one that flickers before my eyes must mean I loved her deeply.”

Love……. Suddenly, her parents’ faces flashed like an awl. Yiyeon pressed her lips together and only exhaled, as if suppressing a retch.

Suddenly, Kwon Chaewoo sat up and pulled the blanket, which was bunched at his feet, over both of them. Yiyeon blinked as warmth instantly enveloped her. It was a comfort that could abruptly put a day’s fatigue to rest. As she instinctively rubbed her cheek against the blanket, her eyes met his.

“When did we get married?”

“Two years ago……?”

“And when did you cry because you hated me?”

“What?”

“You’ve been nursing your husband since your honeymoon.”

“This is the worst,” he muttered, surprisingly logically.

“I’m used to patients who can’t speak, so I didn’t cry.”

“How long did we date?”

“W-well……”

The difficulty of the questions gradually increased. But a lifelong lonely single person couldn’t possibly tell a plausible and eloquent love story.

“We just met and immediately……”

“Immediately?”

Would it be strange to say they got married right away? Still, in this island, international marriages with Southeast Asian women were quite common, and blind dates at cafes were still widespread. As Yiyeon pondered deeply, he raised an eyebrow.

“One-night stand?”

“What?”

“Did we get physical right after meeting? And then you thought, ‘This is the man’?”

“…….”

As she silently mouthed words, he chuckled easily.

“To think I forgot that, what a waste.”

His lips, curving up smoothly, seemed boyish. Especially the way his eyes, which seemed only to be used for looking down on people and threatening them, curved in the opposite direction. Yiyeon stared at the sight with her mouth agape. It felt like having a bad dream with her eyes open.

“Ms. Yiyeon, you had quite a bold side to you.”

“It’s not like that……!”

Just having such a misunderstanding made her feel uncomfortable somewhere deep inside. However, despite her defiant cry, she had nothing substantial to add.

Kwon Chaewoo tilted his head, interpreting that brief silence. Then, his head brushed against the pillowcase with a rustle.